Jaysus

chelemby @ 10:56pm: Transitions
Today, what's left of it, is Armistice Day. Yeah, call it whatever the hell else you want, but originally it had a very specific significance and an unfulfilled dream -- a last war. A war after which there would be no other battles. No, it won't happen in my lifetime, but I believe. Go ahead -- call me a dreamer.

My grandfather, Sgt. John Angus Alexander MacDonald (1876-1965), Canadian Engineers, fought in The Great War. He was gassed and somehow survived to ripe old age. Made 'em tough back then.

So I took my time out at 11:00 a.m. to speak with my family members who have passed along, bringing them up to date on the doings of the family, just keeping touch, retelling a couple old stories that are as well-worn as my shoes. It is important to have such moments.

But today I also learned that I am going to be moving. After far, far too long on the couch in JJ's studio, I will be moving back to Concord and taking up a housemate situation. I think this will be excellent for all involved, despite having to manage the shekels rather closely, or maybe because of that. I will have my own room again, which will feel almost magical after the last few years. My commute will still be a bit hiccupy, due to local transit, but at least it will be far less expensive. And the nearby laundromat will be an absolute godsend.

Anyway, details will follow. Over the next two weeks I will be in transition and sometimes out of contact, but it will all be to the good.

droops @ 11:58pm: Mind warping throwback song
It was 1978, and I was finishing up my freshman year in high school. Music was weird then. Disco had just fallen out of favor, and the real new wave techno that came in the early 1980's wasn't quite there yet. Boston's first album came out in 1977, Frampton Comes Alive was very popular still, bands like Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Aerosmith, etc. were still new and fresh, and Led Zeppelin was arguably at its peak.

In the midst of this there were some new songs that came out that didn't really fit the old rock sound. Most came and went unremarked, but one actually caught the ear of me as a 14-15 year old kid. I haven't heard this song much over the years, but strangely it was playing at Lowes tonight. Yea, weird.

At any rate, I give to you Sniff'n The Tears, singing "Driver Seat."

bhanfhlaith @ 6:19pm: Attention Veterans and family of Veterans
If you are on my friends list and either you served in the military, are the child of someone who did/does or the significant other of someone who did/does, would you mind dropping me a private message please? Thank you.

damejenn, posting in md_pagans @ 3:47pm: Working with Deity in Ritual - Save the Date!

Invocation, Devotion, Embodiment: 

Working with Deity in Ritual

 

                                  Save the Date!  January 9^th and 10^th, 2010

 

With Cypress and Sylvan

A Baltimore Reclaiming Workshop

 

 

In this weekend intensive workshop, we will explore techniques for deepening the presence of Mystery in ritual. Develop and strengthen a personal practice of belief that includes ritual priestessing in a group setting. Learn to build better ritual vessels and intentional structures to make manifest Deity, including more evocative invocations and other embodiment practices. 

 

If we need no other to interpret divinity for us, as we are all our own spiritual authorities, how can we be of greater service to the groups we work with when embodying the Divine? How do our individual beliefs (or lack of belief) in the Goddess / Goddesses / Gods, etc. impact our shared rituals?

 

We’ll be working with the Feri Creation myth (either as found in Starhawk’s Spiral Dance or T. Thorn Coyle’s Evolutionary Witchcraft) as a foundation for experimentation with the use of story and ritual techniques such as anchoring, tending, and aspecting (including development of personal protocols for embodiment work). We will share our skills and experiences in a participatory weekend of ritual!

 

(Times and Baltimore location to be announced soon! This workshop will be sliding scale. Email Jennifer at jennherb@gmail.com for more information.)

 

 

( Teacher Bios... )

scarletwildfire @ 1:37pm: news article of the day

Woman Sits On Boyfriend’s Face To Stop Ex-Wife Call
Media General News Service
Published: November 11, 2009

SPRING HILL, Fla.—A woman faces domestic battery charges after reportedly trying to stop her boyfriend from calling his ex-wife by sitting on his face, along with allegedly slapping and scratching him.

According to Hernando County Sheriff reports, Janet Miller, 26, got angry with her live-in boyfriend for calling his ex-wife. Although she claims not to have assaulted him, she said she did “intentionally sit on his face to prevent him from using the phone.“

Upon arrival, deputies report her boyfriend had a slight redness on his cheek and scratches along his back, which he said came from Miller. However, he did not want to go into detail about it or allow the deputy to take photographs because he said he didn’t want to get Miller in trouble. He did say he and Miller got into an argument after he attempted to use the telephone to call his ex-wife.

Miller was taken into custody for domestic battery and transported to the Hernando County Jail under a no bond status.

theladyskye @ 11:43am: My thoughts are with all the Veterans who have helped protect our country and faced things I can only imagine to make a difference in this world. Your actions are brave and your sacrifices always remembered. Thank you!

mai_ling @ 10:39am: Happy Veteran's Day :: "Portrait of American Veterans, A Visaul Dialouge" project
Happy Armistace Day!


Dad with the artist and his portrait

Its been a while since I've last written.
Yes, I twitter a lot, but its so much more easier and accesible.
I can tweet about the shows I am doing and where I am at

I've been busy with this and that, that I haven't had time to
sit and write.

OH how I miss that.

Much of my October, which was a slow month of 3 shows for me,
was devoted to helping my artist friend Jeanine Hill-Soldner's new
painting project called "Portrait of American Veterans, A Visual Dialouge"

We hit a few bumps in the road but "it came together like a plan"
My mom's favorite saying from the "A-Team"

I re-vitalized my graphic designing skills with working on layouts for
four of the completed veterans and the programs for the un-veling.

My father is one of the four veterans to pose for Jeanine.


Jeanine took her previous project about her family and father's
experiences of being a veteran to another level.

She is collaboratng with veterans from different
generations with unique stories to tell with a
portriat she painting, a Visual Dialouge. As she
has penned it.

Back in March, I received an email from Jeanine
about a project she working on for a grant, and she
asked if my father would be interested in having his
portrait painted.

I told mom right away and she thought it was fantastic
and would be great for dad. He agreed right away.

A couple of months past, and I forgot about it due
to mom not being well. Then I thought about it a
couple of months ago and asked Jeanine about it.

She was going ahead with the project and get it
ready for a show in November to coincide with
Veteran's Day.

She asked again if dad would be interested in
sitting for a portrait. He said yes.

The result is an intimate portrait of the veteran with their
own story with the painting that shares a dialouge
visually.

The reception was held on Friday evening with 150 people
attending. It was fantastic. I performed and did a presentation.

It was an emotional journey for both Jeanine and I.

I have some photos to share with you and video I will put up soon.
(Actually a lot of video) but I will put up photos from Friday evening
and a photo from my concert on Sunday in Barlett. Which I will
write about later.

Check out the article and Video about Jeanine in the Northwest Herald
and the Daily Herald also:

Daily Herald

LINK: http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=333699

Northwest Herald

VIDEO LINK: http://ssm.nwherald.com/northwest-herald/video/20091108VetArtProject/vet-art-project/
LINK: http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2009/11/06/60882692/
Today Article LINK: http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2009/11/07/r_gzg_lh_nrayhyepk0fx_rg/index.xml


MORE PHOTOS:


With dad and Eric


Dad with our Magician/Historian Tom Holbrook

with our friend H. Rick who is Lead Photographer of the Herald and an old
magic family friend. His step-mom is Uncle Jay (Marshall's) sister. Taken
at the Victory Centere Concert in Barlett.




I have a photo taken of me performing at the Raue from last night, but
I can't find the card adapter to take it off my cell-phone..

NEXT TIME! WITH VIDEOS TOO

I PROMISE.


Enjoy!


PHOTOS TAGS: http://pics.livejournal.com/mai_ling/tags/veteran+art+project/

bhanfhlaith @ 11:11am: The Buzz Log - The 11th Hour: The Date Behind Veterans Day - Yahoo! Buzz

At 11:11 on 11/11, I salute all veterans and active duty military for the important and difficult jobs they did and do, and the sacrifices they give. There are several decorated vets in my family and I honor and admire them all year long.

 Back in 1918, in the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, a stop to hostilities was declared, ending World War I. An armistice to cease the fighting on the Western Front was signed by the Allied powers and Germany. President Woodrow Wilson immediately proclaimed the day "Armistice Day," kicking off the annual c...ommemoration on November 11. But over the years, with veterans returning from World War II and the Korean War, Armistice Day became Veterans Day — a day reserved to honor veterans returning from all wars. But 11/11 still represented the end of the Great War in the public's mind, and the date stuck.

The 11th Hour: The Date Behind Veterans Day

by Claudine Zap

16 hours ago

EVERY DAY SHOULD BE VETERANS DAY, BECAUSE THEY MAKE THE OTHER DAYS POSSIBLE.

sunfell @ 9:50am: Happy Veterans Day!


Happy Veterans Day to everyone. I took this photo of Red Square in Moscow in May of 1993, several months after my service in the US Air Force ended.

I'm a Cold War and Desert Storm veteran. We used to joke about how our jobs would end- would we be nuked like "The Day After", or would the Iron Curtain rust out, peace break out, and we all get fired?

Ironically, it was the latter that happened-I was honorably discharged from the Air Force in 1993. As most of you know, it took me nearly a decade to find my feet- having to move back in with my parents, and working piddly-ass jobs until I finally scratched my way to where I am now. I still have a ways to go, but I am better off than I was a decade ago.

Going to Moscow, visiting Red Square and the Kremlin (the place that President Reagan had memorably called "The Evil Empire") and all the places we'd only read about or heard about was a real treat for me. I got to stand in a place that just a few years before- I was prohibited from ever seeing. I got to speak to ordinary people, including fellow veterans (it was their Veterans day when I was there), and give (and take) toasts to peace, prosperity and possibilities. Our former enemy was now just another country, trying to get a leg up in the world.

On this day, combat veterans get most of the well-deserved attention. But let's not forget those of us who kept the lights on during the Cold War, and who saw 3AM far more times than we care to remember, worked the long and silent night shifts, flew back and forth to Berlin 3 times a day, and kept the lines of communication up and running, and standing fast. "The Day After" scared the crap out of us. And I am glad that never happened.

idragosani @ 8:27am: Writer's Block: Play it again, Sam


I hate these kinds of questions. Sorry, I can't pick just one CD to listen to for the rest of my life. I am sure I would get sick of it no matter how much I like it. How about I just spend the rest of my life writing my own music?

PS. I wish people would stop propagating that erroneous line from Casablanca!!!!

PPS. I sure am in a grumpy mood this morning.

rebekah1213, posting in pagan_community @ 5:18am: An Interesting Tarot Reading

Monday night, I was doing a Tarot reading for my mom as we have had a death in the family and we know everything has and will change. We wanted to know what the cards had to say, so I did a general reading. I just did a basic Celtic cross. However this reading caught my interest when I saw the cards. Whenever there was a Wand, there was a Sword to match it: 5’s, 6’s, and Aces. I have a feeling that matching Swords and Wands mean something, but I am not sure what. . . Could some please tell what they could mean?

 

1. Situation: Hierophant
2. Influence: 6 of Swords
3. Foundation: 5 of Wands (Reversed)
4. Past: 9 of Swords
5. Present: Hermit
6. Future Events: 5 of Swords (Reversed)
7. Inner self: 6 of Wands
8. Outer World: Death (Reversed)
9. Hope/Fear: Ace of Wands
10.  Outcome: Ace of Swords

bhanfhlaith @ 11:56pm: IDA NEEDS TO DIE NOW VERY MUCH KTHX
@%@$@$%@$% The gorram basement flooded AGAIN. Ida can kiss my rear end and say thank you, Ma'am.

djpanic, posting in dc_rock_city @ 11:01pm: Reminder This Friday the 13th join us for a night of magic.....
voodoo magic
DC's premier industrial fetish circus
DJs Panic Hardware, Cosmo, Dirty B
White Shadow Live
Tons of vendors
giveaways and more

Friday the 13th of November 2009
( Read more... )

shauna_aura, posting in pagan @ 8:22pm: Diana's Grove: Selling the land
 I was shocked to find an email in my inbox last night that Diana's Grove will be selling the land after the 2010 Mystery School year ends. I'm still kind of sad and angry, and feel like I've had a metaphysical punch in the gut.

Having lived at Diana's Grove for several months, and having spent a lot of time there, this news doesn't come as a complete surprise. I know what many of the challenges Cynthea and Patricia and other staffers have faced with making Diana's Grove possible. 

But it still hurts. And my heart hurts not just for me, but for all my friends who are part of the Diana's Grove community. 

---

In 2010, Diana’s Grove Mystery School will be working with the story of Persephone. It is a story of cycles, and as we all know, part of the wisdom of cycles is that all things come to an end. While it is our intention that Mystery School will continue, Diana’s Grove Center, as you and we have known it, is coming to an end.

 

 

( Read more about Diana's Grove selling the land. )

 

 

crazedcamel, posting in pagan @ 11:26pm: NW YULEFEAST PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRUBUTION
The Board of Directors of NW Yulefeast, in recognition of these tough economic times has decided to extend the pre-reg rate through Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26th, 2009. Any Registration received from the 27th though the closing date of December 1st will be the higher 'regular rate'.

The Board has received to date four requests for the Grandma Fussie Scholarships. Deadline for this years scholarship requests is November 15th, with the recipients notified by email by the 20th.

Online registration is available on the website http://nwyulefeast.org as well as the flyer for download. Details for the Grandma Fussie Memorial Scholarship is also available on the website.

NW Yulefeast is the Pacific Northwest Premiere Winter Pagan Festival, now in its 21st year. Visit our website at http://nwyulefeast.org for more information.

Thanks,

NW Yulefeast Board of Directors

idragosani @ 5:28pm: Writer's Block: Famous last words


"I Love you" to humanpacifier

nmdrkangl @ 4:47pm: ( You are about to view content that may only be appropriate for adults. )

irenejericho, posting in esoterica_lburg @ 1:27pm: Brigid's Faire!!!

seraphbriar @ 12:54pm: To Touch the Fire
This story...hrm...dunno quite how I feel about it yet. This is Rosoe's story. She was also never created with RP in mind, but as I'm sad that I never play her anymore, I'm thinking of transferring her to my new home server. That made me think about what sort of character she would be, which ended up eventually getting her a story written. I'm posting it here in order to share it with a friend. There's a part that might end up getting rewritten if I can come up with a way to improve it, but in order to not bias the reader, I won't point out what part.

( To Touch the Fire )

Written while listening to Beautiful Disaster by 311.

sunfell @ 11:43am: A breath of fresh air
Karen Armstrong is a very interesting writer. She has written many books about religion and faith- particularly the Abrahamic faiths. I have "The Battle for God" (which is about fundementalism), and am going to pick up her latest book, "The Case for God".

Now why the heck would a zetectically oriented skeptic like me be interested in something defending 'A Case for God', when I've stated my position on the concept of "god/s/"? Because Armstrong digs down through the noise and gets to the signal- that of Mythos and Logos- which are not mutually exclusive, but which must have their own existences in order for society to function in a healthy manner. The modern religious mixture and distortion of both concepts has not been a healthy thing. It was Armstrong who clarified these things.

This Fresh Air with Terry Gross Fresh Air interview</a> was what initially pricked my interest. After all, Zetectics require the burden of proof to be upon the claimant, and I always listen to rational argument. Here it was.

Then, AlterNet posted an article from a Daily Kos writer about this latest book, too. Here is an excerpt:

[...]We've turned "myth" into another word for fantasy, or lie. In doing so:

We lost the art of interpreting the old tales of gods walking the earth, dead men striding out of tombs, or seas parting miraculously. We began to understand concepts such as faith, revelation, myth, mystery, and dogma in a way that would have been very surprising to our ancestors.

In particular, the concept of faith comes in for a close examination. We understand faith today as a kind of blind acceptance -- like Indiana Jones stepping off into space in his quest for the Holy Grail. Religious people cheer this kind of "faith" and many Christians tout this as the one and only qualification to be among Christ's chosen. But that's not what the word translated as "faith" meant in Biblical times. It's not even what it meant when the Bible was first translated into English.

The term used in most New Testament texts (the Greek word pistis) meant something closer to loyalty or commitment, than unreasoning belief. When Jesus chastised his followers for their lack of faith, or commended a non-Jew for having faith, he wasn't talking about some unspoken creed. He certainly wasn't praising them for seeing that he was divine. He was talking about follow-through, about living up to ideas of selflessness and humbleness. Even the word "belief" has changed from a Middle English sense of "prize" to our modern idea of "accept at face value." Imagine how different every Christian creed would sound today if we replace "believe in" with "value" and "have faith in" with "commit myself to."

That's the meat of the matter, wouldn't you say? And it is the number one fundamental reason why I cannot bear the blatherings of the lot of modern TrueBelievers™- because they have heavily degraded and undermined the actual meaning and understanding of the words 'faith' and 'belief'. And it is why I have adopted a very rigorously skeptical attitude about all things religious- to scrape that corruptive layer of modern blindness and willful ignorance off of a valuable concept.

I like the original kernel of the word 'belief'- it makes much more logical sense to me than the current degraded meaning. And it made me think about what I valued- my concept and theory of Small Gods, for instance. Yes, it is a relatively radical concept, but it holds its own, and without the noise and fear of conventional modern 'belief'.

I like learning about ancient religious concepts and how modern culture has changed things. It helps to get to the root of ideas and understand where things came from In that, Armstrong has not disappointed me yet. I slot her ideas into my mind- right in between the ravings of both the TrueBelievers™ and the TrueUnbelievers™.

seraphbriar @ 11:18am: Northrend is Calling
I really like this character. He's a bit of a mix of influences - a little bit of Wolfwood from Trigun, a little J.D. Ward (don't ask), a little bit Pratchett - but he's definitely designed to be the comedic relief sort. This makes him a huge challenge for me to actually RP though, because not only do I step out of my comfort zone and RP a different gender, he's also more outgoing and funny than I naturally am, so Diyos is definitely my challenge character.

( Northrend is Calling )

Written while listening to: Leipzig is Calling (with short intro) by Thomas Dolby.

bhanfhlaith @ 10:03am: for tomorrow (11/11)

beltainelady @ 8:50am: Uh. Yeah. Hi.
( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )

bhanfhlaith @ 9:50am: Quote Project #29

"Did you ever read the Bible, Katherine? Did you ever notice how, in the Bible, whenever God needed to punish someone, or make an example, or whenever God needed a killing, he sent an Angel? Did you ever wonder what a creature like that must be like? A whole existence spent praising your God, but always with one wing dipped in blood... Would you ever REALLY wanna see an Angel?" -- Thomas, "The Prophecy" (1995)

scarletwildfire @ 9:18am: early autumn in November
The weather the last few days has been absolutely gorgeous.  Yesterday peaked to about 67.  I'm thinking it's September not November, but regardless I'll take it!  I was in such good spirits yesterday that I walked back to my car on West Campus (about 1.5 miles) after I took my exam.

It's funny how decent weather lifts my spirits so.  I sat there drinking in the sun and breathing deep and the first thoughts that went through my head were of how fortune I am.  I have friends that accept me for who I am - weaknesses and all.  I have family that I can talk to and travel to see - and I'm not alienated or disowned.  I have prospects for relationships and that alone makes me care more about myself, who I am, and what kind of mettle I'm made from.  I have a roof over my head - without having a job.  I am at a well respected school that I may have had to kick ass to get into but it still amazes me that I am here at all.  The campus is large with excellent facilities, a wonderful bus system, a crapload of green space, the ability to walk anywhere, and good people who believe in what they are doing.  I'm not able to describe how cool it is to see so many people that care about their work, to meet so many who are jazzed about giving a shit - who are there to *teach* and support students.  This campus has around 52K of students on it, and yet I feel more a part of it then I ever did at any of the other schools I've attended.  Even nearly a year later I'm still incredibly happy I made this decision - now matter how much it put me over a barrel.

And so I walked back to my car yesterday afternoon with a lighter step and more appreciation then I've been able to muster in a while.  Someday I will get to a place that offers more sun then Ohio and I hope I will be able to stand away from the dark clouds more.